Furball Magazine Issue #1 July '97
Furball is a magazine devoted to Air Warrior & Air Warrior II. Furball can be picked up by subscription (Furball is free). If you are interested in joining the furball writing staff or getting a subscription Email me: Furballmag@aol.com
This is the 1st issue of Furball so our writing staff is kind of ::::Ahem:::: limited, but we hope to have a full writing staff by issue two. Well I hope you enjoy this issue of Furball, and please feel free to Email any comments or suggestions you have.[F]
Sweaty Palms
You pump the P-51 mustang you have been perusing full of lead. He breaks hard to the left, you go full throttle and head after him... Uh oh two high flying 190’s dive down on you. You see tracers flying on either side of you then... PING... You’re trailing smoke all over the virtual skies. You radio for help, but before you can transmit your message you are overcome with a red screen. Only now does it dawn on you that you are not in the cramped cockpit of your ME 109 but at your desk staring into a 14” monitor. Can someone remind me why Air warrior is addictive again? Even back when the 486 was king Air Warrior’s graphics looked like crap (Except for the cockpit graphics of course). Air Warrior stand alone will have you sleeping in minutes. So why is Air Warrior so addictive? It is the feeling that you get when you line up your pipper and push your .50 cal. machine guns right through the tail of another living breathing human being. That is why Air Warrior has stayed alive through the 200 MHz pentiums and 3D graphic accelerators. No matter how good a game looks it can’t overcome bad gameplay. As far as gameplay goes, online Air Warrior is the Cadillac of computer games.[F]
Air Warrior II
At the time of this issues publication Air Warrior II could only be played (Multiplayer) at the Kesmai website. However both Aol and Compuserve have made their interests known about holding arenas for Air Warrior II. Air Warrior II Is not just a multiplayer game. It comes with over 300 stand alone missions! As if that weren’t enough those guys at Kesmai Studios added new maps and plenty of new aircraft (Stukas, P-40’s, and Avengers are just a few). The cockpit art is the same. The terrain graphics moved from the late 80’s to early 90’s. The game has Specs. on all of the aircraft. The flight model has stayed basically the same, other than the fact you shake when you fire your guns. The games stand alone play is awesome. Complete with detailed briefings and the choice of what war, theater, and country you fly for. Air Warrior II has done the impossible... They have taken a classic and improved it enough to make even the most die-hard Air Warrior pilots drool in anticipation for the official AW II arenas to get under way. Air Warrior II is a must have for all WWII aviation buffs. Air Warrior II KICKS ACK (I know... I know...pretty lame). [F]
AIR WARRIOR II
By Kesmai
Rating 0%-100%
85%
Chivalry...?
You strap into your nimble Spitfire. You roll out onto the runway. Then, out of nowhere a P-38 dives out of the sky and turns your Spit. into a fiery inferno before your wheels leave the tarmac. To vultch or not to vultch.?(pun intended). I can’t honestly say that I’ve never vultched, Hell, I got 20k pts on one mission vultching some newbie who just kept trying to take off! I think I fragged him about 12 times. Back on the subject, vultching is a good way to get people pissed off (including myself, Grrrrrrrr). We took a survey, 10 pilots from each arena, here are the results. 35% say they think vultching is perfectly fair. 65% think that vultching is done by “dweebs” who can’t dog-fight. Out of those same 100 pilots 95%, say that they vultch when they get the chance. Either all of the pilots in AW are democrats, or vultching is kind of like those free samples at the grocery store. They are just too good to pass up.[F]
B-17 Flying Fortress
The B-17, almost a symbol of the U.S in WWII. The B-17 Was built in 1934. This was a time of Bi-planes so the colossus B-17 was a marvel in itself. It was built to be a maritime bomber. The 1st B-17’s were only built with 3 gunner positions armed with .30 cal. machine guns. When the call to arms arose in Europe arose the B-17’s as the 8th Air Force smashed Hitler’s industrial war machine by daylight saturation bombing.
Air Warrior Specs.
Payload: 12 500 lb bombs.
Crew: 6 gunner positions and 1 navigator position.
Top speed: 300 knts, Any faster than that your wings fall off!
Pros: Huge payload, and lots of gunner positions (if you can fill them all).
Cons: Being so slow and big makes it an easy target for fighters.
Overall: If you are a serious bomber pilot this should be your weapon of choice. It carries enough bombs to cripple an airfield, and it has plenty of gunner positions to keep those pesky 190’s and N1K2’s at bay.
P-38 Lightning
The P-38 found its niche as fighter in the Pacific. In Europe is used mostly for ground support and dive-bombing. In the Pacific, It would tear apart lightly armored “Zeros” with its 8 guns all found in the nose. The Lightning was also an effective night fighter, used to destroy German buffs as they tried to cross the English Channel.
Air Warrior Specs.
Guns: 1 cannon & 4 .50 cals. all in nose.
Bombs: 2 500 lb bombs
Top speed: 250 knts
Pros: Great guns and ammo. It can stallfight, boom & zoom, and Dive-bomb. This is one mean warbird.
Cons: Unless you have a death wish DO NOT try to roll the P-38 you’d be better off rolling a 747.
Overall: The P-38 is best left to experienced pilots. Once you learn to use flaps and rudders effectively, then you should give this bird a whirl.
Squadrons
This month I decided to take an in depth look at squadrons. Through my many years of online flight I’ve noted that there are really two types of squadrons: serious and casual. The serious squadrons are usually the ones with the ranks, and the squad folder on the message boards, while the casual squadrons are the squadrons with names like...and I quote “Nazi Killers”,”The Homeboys”, and of course who can forget the “The Sacred Cows”? I can proudly say I’ve been in both types of squadron. Personally I liked the more structured squadrons better, but I can see how someone could want to join the Sacred Cows. If you are thinking of joining a squadron there are some things you should consider first:
(1) Some squadrons require that you attend squad meetings and squad nights, so if you aren’t a serious player you might want to check with the CO of a squadron you intend on joining.
(2) Before joining a squadron always type: /Team <Leader’s CPID> this will give you a roster of everyone in the squadron. Trust me there’s nothing worse than joining a squadron then finding out there’s only 3 members.
(3) This is more of a public service announcement than anything, I can’t count how many times people have asked me: How do you join a squadron?, or how do you leave a squadron. Well here it is: To leave a squadron type: /Withdraw
To join a squadron type: /Accept <Leader’s CPID> Note these commands must be done inside either an H.Q. , an airfield readyroom, or an officers club.[F]
A Day In The Life Of An ‘Air Warrior’
The day started like so many before it in this long protracted war. I doubt if any of us even really knew what started it, but we fought it as though it were our own personal war. My squad shuffled into the ready room and collapsed into the seats to receive our briefing. The lights were dim and smoke thankfully filled the room as most of us were in need of a shower and shave. The briefing officer began promptly at 8:00. We quickly realized that this was not a run of the mill mission, but rather, a strike targeted deep in enemy territory. If we pulled this off, all of B land would be encouraged. At 8:15 we headed out to our heavily laden B17s. We were short several men so each ship was assigned only two gunners each. I piloted one and the Colonel the other. We were fortunate enough to have two escorts assigned for our strike from a fighter squad based nearby. We took off into the evening sun, then turned north towards our target deep in C land. Lumbering up to our cruise altitude of 20,000 feet, we encountered an enemy patrol which was quickly dispatched by our escort, but not before they could radio our position back to their HQ. The enemy now knew we were coming. It was at this point that the Colonel began drinking heavily as I believe he knew what was coming. (He always flew with a canteen full of bourbon) Just southeast of our target the enemy fighters had gathered waiting for us like a school of hungry sharks. I opened the bay doors and activated the bomb sight. We were right on target. I only hoped that the gunners and escort could fend of the enemy fighters long enough for us to drop our bomb load. Suddenly the old gal began shuddering violently. We were taking .50 calibers in the rear end like they were having a 2 for 1 sale. We abruptly lost the number 3 engine and the flaps were shot clean off before the gunners could kill the attacking enemy fighter. Wounded but not dead, we limped to the target and dropped all of the 500 pounders on the ammo shed. What a spectacular sight! A huge rolling explosion shook the area throwing debris and sheep into the air!!! I put the old gal into a shallow dive turning for home and engaging WEP. We were quickly set upon again by enemy fighters this time bent on revenge. They were enraged at the sight of their flock in ruin. Once again the ship shook violently and we lost our elevators. Our great lady was mortally wounded! I fought the stick for a while, but soon realized it was hopeless. I gave the command to bail out and promptly jumped. My valiant crew however decided to ride the lady down laughing maniacally as they dealt out steel jacketed death left and right to the enemies who dared approach the wounded bird. I floated down in my chute, shocked and stunned at the awesome spectacle. Upon splash landing into the ocean, I was promptly captured and taken to C land HQ for interrogation. I refused to talk at first as all they had to offer me were sheep. They then resorted to more subtle means of persuasion and I soon found myself telling them my life story. They quickly discovered that I knew nothing of value. I was then driven to an airfield and placed aboard a gooney. The C47 flew skimming the surface of the ocean towards a nearby neutral field where I was rudely kicked out with a chute. (I later learned that the Cz figured it could only help their war effort if I was sent back). Eventually I made my way back to my airbase where I was debriefed and told the mission was a success. Deciding that I needed I drink, I ambled over to the Officer's Club and brought my day to a fitting end in the warm embrace of my favorite beverage. [F]
+BLU+
N1K2
The N1K2( or NIKI as some refer to it as ) is starting to become one of the most widely used aircraft in the Pacific. It has phenomenal climbing ability, and it hold onto its E very well in the vertical, giving it the best sustained climbing ability of all of the aircraft in the pacific arena. It handles very well at extreme heights, and has a very lethal punch due in part to its 4 cannon.
To use the NIKI effectively in air-to-air combat, you have to keep it fast, as its armor is not all that great( like all of the Japanese planes in the game ) Make sure you have an altitude advantage if you are going to engage a fighter. To make a successful pass, first go into a dive and build up your speed. Open fire at about 500 yds and then go into a vertical climb, ( make sure you have atleast 300 knots before going into the vertical, otherwise keep diving til you get to this airspeed) The NIKI can hold the vertical for so long that you will be out of harms way in less than 5 seconds because you will be well above your opponent, so he will not be able to make a successful shot at you unless it is another NIKI who had more speed than you did when you went into your dive. NEVER try to stallfight in a NIKI, because almost everything in the pacific can out turn it at low speeds. If you get slow in the NIKI, you die, so keep it fast, and you will be untouchable!! [F]
AHBlackjak
Rookie Corner
Okay kids here are some hints and tips that will help you become more than just a target in AW’s virtual skies. Okay this month, I’m just going to go over fighter basics. First you need to know how to pick a plane suited to you. If you don’t want to mess with flaps and rudders than you should stick to the “Stallfighters”.i.e., Spitfire, 109, Hellcat, and the Zero. In these four planes you can generally get away without using extensive rudder and flaps. A couple years back in relaxed realism I gave a friend of mine a film of us dogfighting, he noticed that I didn’t use flaps or rudder and suggested that I try flying the BF109. I racked up more kills in the 109 in 1 day than I did the entire first month I played AW. Back on the subject, If you want a Boom & Zoom plane your best bets are the 190 or the N1K1. Notice I didn’t mention the P-51. I’ll probably get a lot of death threats for not mentioning the great “Pony” but there is a method behind my madness: The true object of Booming & Zooming is to dive down on an unsuspecting aircraft and pump enough lead into your target to kill him on the 1st pass, unfortunately the way AW registers damage largely disfavors the P-51 and it’s .50 cals. Therefore it is best to Boom & Zoom with cannon equipped war birds such as the FW190.
The second most important thing you need to know before you strap into you G suits, is how to get your bullets in your enemies plane. Sounds simple but it is actually a hard skill to master. The first thing you must realize is that bullets take time to reach their targets, therefore if you are firing into a target flying perpendicular to you at 200 knts and there’s a distance of 800 yds. between you, and you put your pipper right on his tail, you are going to miss him by about 1000 yds. You must lead your target, sort of like a football if you throw the ball where your receiver WAS he won’t catch the ball.
The third, and final rule to Basic fighter flying is to think of a dogfight (or Furball, no pun intended ) three dimensionally. You must remain unpredictable in order to keep that pesky lead out of your fuselage. Remember to incorporate loops and spins in your repertoire and you will be a much harder target to hit. It will also help some of your bullets to find their way to your enemies tail.
If you follow these rules you will be an ace in no time at all, people will come running to you for advise, and beg you to join their squadron... Okay, so maybe not but you won’t see that annoying red screen so much.[F]
Thanks to...
The Furball writing staff.
Especially, +BLU+ and AHBlackjack.
A special thanks to the 58th Bomber squadron.